Our bovine public: a brief history of livestock cameos at the opera

Louis Andriessen’s De Materie has made waves with its inclusion of 100 sheep from Pennsylvania, but they’re hardly the first animals to accompany an aria

"Heiner Goebbels’ production of Dutch composer Louis Andriessen’s modernist opera De Materie (which runs at the Park Avenue Armory in New York until Wednesday) has caused a stir with its inclusion of sheep in the cast. The opera’s fourth act, which uses poetry by Willem Kloos and writing by Marie Curie for its libretto, is when the director turns loose 100 beasts from north-east Pennsylvania. And the animals are a hit, meriting star-style profiles in the press."